Start with AI · Decision tool

Choose your first AI tool without overthinking it

Beginner · Published 2026-10-08 · Reviewed 2026-10-05

Tools: Multi-tool
Audience: People getting started with AI
Topic: Start with AI

Colleagues discussing a presentation at a meeting table

You’ll finish with: a short evidence-based shortlist for your first AI tool.

Pick your first AI app around a job you need done, not a leaderboard you will forget by lunch. Two tools and one fair test are enough to get started.

Set up

Allow 20 minutes. Use accounts you already have or can try within their stated limits. Check current plan details before paying; this exercise needs only text chat.

Download this guide’s practice sheet ↓

Try this example

FICTIONAL PRACTICE MATERIAL
Job: turn five rough notes into a 100-word client update. Must retain dates, identify unknowns and use Australian spelling. Try the same fictional notes in two available apps.

Do the task

Write three pass conditions before opening either app.
Use the same input and prompt in fresh chats. Record corrections and time spent reviewing.
Choose the simpler acceptable option, or record why neither passed.

Your reusable prompt

Create a comparison sheet for two AI tools doing this job. Columns: facts preserved, unknowns labelled, edits needed, minutes reviewing, access limits, decision. Leave untested results blank.

PRACTICE INPUT
Job: turn five rough notes into a 100-word client update. Must retain dates, identify unknowns and use Australian spelling. Try the same fictional notes in two available apps.

Refine your result

Do not recommend a winner from brand reputation. Base the decision on the results I supply and identify missing evidence.

Check the result

An empty test sheet should stay empty. The choice should be explained by your actual trials, including correction effort, rather than a made-up quality score.

Save and reuse

Keep tool-choice.md and one checked output from each app. Revisit when the work changes, not whenever a new model name appears.

Sources and notes

Projects and reusable context Checked 2026-10-05

The practice input and teaching prompt are original 5HO material. Examples are fictional; they are not screenshots or claims of a completed real-world task.
Official documentation supports the relevant product concepts. Setup availability depends on your account; where a guide offers a fallback, it does not prove the connected capability worked.